Some museums are free to enter and some you have to pay a small fee to get in, but it is worth it when you have nothing else to do this winter break.

The Cleveland Museum of Natural History has several new exhibits and attractions that all can have interest in.

“Students can explore interesting galleries and thought-provoking exhibits, as well as attend a special Ice Age event over the school break. They should also check out our live planetarium shows in the state-of-the-art Shafran Planetarium,” said Kimberley Gillan-Shafron, director of marketing and communications at the Cleveland Museum of Natural History.

This winter, the Museum is hosting the North American debut of “Nature’s Mating Games: Beyond the Birds and the Bees,” a provocative exhibit from London about the science of seduction.

Students can visit the new Human Origins Gallery, featuring an amazingly lifelike “Lucy,” the famous early human ancestor with a Cleveland connection. (A former curator at the Museum discovered the fossil.)

The Museum has a great selection of shows in the Shafran Planetarium all week, including a new show, “Life: A Cosmic Journey,” narrated by two-time Academy Award winner Jodie Foster. Students can also walk outdoors in the Perkins Wildlife Center & Woods Garden where they’ll meet bobcats, eagles and otters enjoying winter.

This outdoor gallery is home to native Ohio animals that were injured or abandoned and have come to live at the Museum.

The Cleveland History Museum is open late every Wednesday night until 10 p.m. Starting in December, they will offer a cash bar on those nights. Guests can enjoy an evening out with a planetarium show, and if it is a clear night, go up in the Mueller Observatory with one of our astronomers to view the night skies and a chance to see Jupiter this time of year, according to Shafron.

“The Museum is a great place to spend time with friends or bring a date because there will always be something to spark a conversation,” said Shafron.

On these Wednesday nights, admission is $6 and students with a valid ID can tour the mating games exhibit for free. Cleveland State University students check it out.

“Students spend so much time writing, reading and doing research during the semester, they need a break from note-taking and an opportunity to experience science and nature in a fun way. The Cleveland Museum of Natural History is a great place to spend a couple of hours seeing things you don’t get to see every day. When was the last time you stood next to a dinosaur? Watched otters playing in a pond? Or saw the stars and planets?” said Shafron.

The Cleveland Museum of Natural History is open Monday through Saturday from10 a.m. – 5 p.m.Wednesday from 10 a.m. – 10 p.m. and Sunday from noon to 5 p.m.

The Cleveland Museum of Art also has several different options for the average student from exhibits such as exhibits on “Sicily,” which is the art and invention between Greece and Rome and many other exciting exhibits that the museum has to offer.

The art museum presents ‘Fragments of the Invisible: The Rene and Odette Delenne Collection of Congo Sculpture,’ an exhibition showcasing a recently-acquired group of Congo sculptures from Belgian collectors Rene and Odette Delenne that elevates the museum’s central African art collection to among the finest in North America.

“The chance to accept a group of works like the Congo sculptures from the Delenne collection would be envy of an curator, and it is a rare privilege to have the opportunity to present this transformative acquisition to both local and international audiences,” said Constantine Petridis, exhibition organizer and the curator of African art at the Cleveland Museum of Art.

This is one of the museums that is free.

The museums hours as follows: Tuesdays, Thursdays, Saturdays and Sundays from 10:00 a.m.- 5:00 p.m., Wednesdays and Fridays 10:00 a.m.- 9:00 p.m., and closed on Mondays.
If you have a music passion, the Rock Hall is for you. If you have a science bug inside you, than the Great Lakes Science Center is for you.

All museums here in the Greater Cleveland area are educational and fun to take part in. One day you may need to know about some topic of history, and that trip over winter break may provide you with the right information.

“Take some time to visit the Museum and other cultural institutions in Cleveland for a unique experience and a chance to discover something new,” said Shafron.

These numbers include students, faculty, and alumni and non-members that swipe in at the recreation center.

“The comprehensiveness of our Rec Center, no-one can come near it, we have an Olympic size pool, instructional pool, basketball courts, squash and racquetball courts,” said Greg Ross, director of Campus Recreation Center. “Other gyms around the state cannot offer those type of facilities.”

He also said that we have been staying up to date with the latest and greatest equipment out there.

“In terms of treadmills and bikes this is our eighth year and we already turned in all the original equipment and bought new ones because they take a beating, you will never see any equipment that is broken or falling apart, like most gyms,” said Ross.

The recreation center weight room is designed for different types of workouts with cardio machines, plate-loaded strength equipment and a stretching area.

The all-access cardio row is a one-stop shop for your cardio and weight training needs with 55 pieces of equipment, including a full line of 21 machines for every type of exercise.

“I love it here, I work out twice a week sometimes three to four times a week, the recreation center is one of the best places on campus and it’s the best feature in my eyes the college offers and is why I choose Cleveland State,” said Demetrius Williams, junior special education major at Cleveland State.

To access the recreation center, students enrolled in one credit hour get in free. The Cleveland State recreation center sells community memberships as well.

Classes on cycling, yoga, zumba, 158, TRX, tabata and personal training are also offered.
It was the first recreation center in the area to purchase a state-of-the-art multipurpose trainer. This features monkey bars, battle ropes,and a rebounder for solo medicine ball workouts.

During the course of the semester we get 30-40% of students that swipe in. While 18% come every day to the recreation center. A total of 1300 non-student members visit the recreation center for their workout routines.

“The recreation center does not lock you into a long term contract, you can join for a month, a year whatever you want you can keep paying monthly because we are a low pressure gym unlike other gyms out there,” said Ross.

One aspect the Recreation Center wanted to do this year was give back to students that were taking a full course load (12-18 credit hours).

More than 6,000 students were eligible for an “All Class Pass” – a new program that the Rec Center offering full time students to take any fitness class for free all semester.

The Recreation Center gave out 735 passes out to students this semester so far which is a $75 value. That is totaling $55,125 to students.

“I feel we have something for everyone here, it doesn’t matter what you’re interested in whether its sports or fitness related we have it and we will get you there,” said Ross.

The Cleveland State University Recreation Center is open Monday- Thursday from 5:45 a.m. to 11:00 p.m. Friday 5:45 a.m. to 9:00 p.m. and Saturday- Sunday 9:00 a.m. to 6:00 p.m.

Recently Cleveland State University police have been asking students, faculty and staff to walk with care around campus, especially after regular hours. The recommendation is “put your junk in your trunk” after you park your car on campus.

There have been several incidents regarding vandals breaking into cars and stealing their belongings.

There have been five cars in the past six weeks where the ignition was broken because according to Ronald Morenz, captain of the university police department, they are easier to steal.

“Whoever is doing this, is not very good at doing it,” said Morenz.

According to police these vandals are targeting Chrysler-Dodge vehicles that we’re made between 2001-2005 in Lot 80. The Lot 80, between Prospect Ave and Carnegie Ave, has been in the police blotter all semester and is probably one of the most dangerous lots to park in.

“Lot 80 is a mixed lot it is not just used by Cleveland State University students but used for people at the YMCA as well,” said Morenz. Captain Morenz pointed out that students and people at the YMCA leave their cars unlocked or have their GPS system cradle hanging in the window and that gives those vandals reason to break in and grab the GPS system that is in the glove box or lock box in the car.

Additionally, some people leave laptops, expensive headphones and other very valuable items in plain site in their vehicles. This triggers thieves to break the window of the vehicles and take whatever they can including the ignition because some cars are very easy to steal.

“People are making themselves the victim, they have to help us keep them from being the victim,” said Morenz.

The Cleveland State police department is putting up signs all over campus saying “Put your junk in your trunk” to avoid these occurrences.

Morenz encouraged that signs such as “See something, say something” and “Put your junk in the trunk” help students on campus be safe and secure.

However despite all these programs it is not sinking in with everybody, Morenz feels. This is likely because many students might be thinking that this will never happen to me.
It is not like the police department is not doing their job. The police have been patrolling the Lot 80 and other areas on a regular basis. In the last several months they have patrolled the lot 866 times.

When students are talking on their iPhone while walking to class at night or during the day they are becoming the victim and should be more aware of their surroundings. This is like a having a big neon sign on you that says rob me.

Students on campus are encouraged if they feel unsafe to call 2020 and call for an escort to show them to their car or class or even to lunch if they want. You will see some escorts wearing a lime green shirt that tells you they are “Campus Safety Officers”.

“This program has been in store since the late 80’s/90’s and this year we have enhanced the program since last year, by hiring more and changing their attire so they stand out more, professionalize themselves as well, “ said Beverly J. Pettrey, Crime Prevention Officer, Cleveland State University police.

The student escort service has been enhanced by making the service available more often and frequently throughout the day. These escorts start their shifts at 12:30 p.m. and end at 11:00 p.m. at night. The outfits of the campus safety escorts were changed to lime green shirts so they could not be mistaken for construction workers or parking employees who wear orange vests.

“The campus safety officer program basically is to increase visibility, safety, and help identify issues on campus for police and their primary function is to be available to safely escort students on campus to anywhere on campus,” said Pettrey.

Statistics show that from the beginning of this year 2,504 students used the safety escort service. These campus safety officers go through basic training before being escorts for the police department such as CPR training and safety precaution classes.

Opportunity theft is on the rise on campus and is up 4%.

The “Campus Safety Officers” have to be a student and is run through Career Services. “Student serving the campus.”

A word from your Captain and your Crime Prevention Officer of the Cleveland State University Police department:

“If anyone feels any inkling of being uncomfortable, call 2020 and get an escort, if you feel uncomfortable go back to where you feel comfortable and where it was safe and re-evaluate, and make a better choice go with your instincts.”

Safety Tips:

 Know your environment. Know where the emergency phones are located.
 Notify Campus Police of any suspicious person or activity. Pay attention to physical description (hair, eyes, complexion, height, weight, and clothing.)
 Trust your instincts and use common sense. Stay away from strangers and suspicious situations.
 Walk in groups whenever possible. Use the Escort Service when alone especially at night.
 Walk in well-lit areas following the flow of pedestrian traffic.
 Lock your doors. Take your keys. It only takes a few seconds for a thief to take your valuables.

Starting in fall of 2014 Cleveland State University will move to a new time block grid for scheduling class. The new grid will coincide with the credit conversion from 4-3 beginning next fall.

The current class block schedule grid was created in 1977 and was last revised when Cleveland State moved from a quarter to semester system. The start time for each block

currently is based on a four-credit class. The transition to a dominant three credit hour model will streamline course offerings.

The new grid model in circulation is being viewed by most faculty and students as an improvement, but they are also raising some concerns.

“After hearing and looking at this new time block scheduling grid, I do not appreciate it at all,” said Tamara Aziza McDowell, senior biology major. “Classes are too close together, the teachers will be running over their scheduling time, with the new times for classes it will not let teachers get what they want to cover because those five extra minutes do make a difference so the minutes they are cutting will make a difference.”

Recently Cleveland State implemented scheduling software (Ad Astra) that allows the university to closely monitor scheduling patterns to make future improvements.

“Ad Astra allows departments and the registrars office to be able to schedule in sequential order the classes a student can sign up for,” said Carmen Brown, vice president of Enrollment & Student Services.

Ad Astra did a study and found that some classes in the current time schedule go off-grid, which means the classes overlap with one another. A student that is taking a class that is ‘overlapping’ will never catch up to the next sequence of the class because you are coming in 10, 15, 20 minutes later after that class has started.

Discussing the new time block schedule Brown said that if you are in one of those classes that is off-grid you’re not going to be able to take that next class.

“Our mission is to help students, and by implementing this new grid we feel that it will give students more efficiencies when scheduling your classes and makes the enrolling easier for them and the grid plays a very important role,” said Brown [see graphic below].

Chart for classes that meet on Monday, Wednesday, and Friday. “Only on Monday and Wednesday

According to Brown the new class block schedule will serve two key purposes: It allows the university to maximize classroom use and it will give students maximum registration options, making it easier for students to schedule classes and therefore graduate sooner.

The current grid does not adequately support courses of varying credits or provide faculty with options to support their teaching needs and different pedagogical styles.

“The new time block scheduling grid that is being implemented in fall of 2014, was voted on by the students here at Cleveland State University,” said Provost Deidre Mageean.

Administrators feel that the new system will also increase options for students, reduce university-imposed downtime between classes and provide framework for all course offering (1 credit-5 credits). Importantly it allows faculty choice based on pedagogical styles that do not impede student course scheduling.

Tamara also made a point that her anatomy class she said was an hour an a half and now is fifty minutes and this class is doing terribly because they do not have enough time to get through the information. She said there is not enough time to get through the material on test days and this will cause more stress to students if every class is set up this way.

It is difficult for classrooms to be utilized fully if someone stays in the class 10 minutes over into the next block that means the next block can’t be used in that classroom.

Theresa LaGrange , vice provost for academic planning, made note during the interview that it is also very difficult for students to prepare a coherent schedule and I have encountered several students when I was teaching that would say “ Oh I really want to take this class but I can’t because my previous one overlaps at 15 minutes is it okay of I come in 15 minutes late? That is a disservice to students.”

“I have never seen a institution where classes start at a whole range of different times and places, one start at 9:45 and one starts at 10 and another 10:15 etc,” said Mageean.

The university administrators point out that the new system has many positives when it will be implemented in 2014.

“The thing you have to keep in mind is that everybody in the entire higher education industry uses time block grid blocks, it is just a method of coordinating when classes start and end and finding a location for them, without people bumping into each other and overlapping each,” said LaGrange.

Commuter students have a big issue on this new time block schedule because they hope it will really benefit students. When the grid was shown to residents and commuters on campus many said good things could happen with this.

“I think that this will benefit students because the attention span of someone goes 25 minutes for the average person, so honestly of it’s an hour class than its better than sitting there for two hours,” said Bill Likos, junior Bio-medical technology major at Cleveland State.

“I work at four so it would be more convenient finishing my classes earlier in the morning rather than rushing to do homework and studying before work with current grid we are in,” said Briana Capone, freshman Special education major at Cleveland State.

The university officials anticipate the new time block will better meet the needs of faculty and students.

Student Organizations at Cleveland State University primarily receive funding through different avenues from the Student Government Association.

The funding process does have a few steps that everyone should be aware of. Officers of each group should fill out the budget request form on OrgSync. There are five application deadlines this year.

These groups such as The Accounting Association, Net Impact, The American Chemical Society, Urban Health Interest Group and many fraternities and sororities are just a few examples of some student organizations on campus that can get funding.

SGA helps the student organizations to either start off the year or help put on big events throughout the year.

“Student Government will fund up to $5,000 a year to each student group,” said Jake Wehner, Student Government Treasurer.

There are about 200 student organizations on campus and the process to secure funding is competitive. Student organizations have to file an application have to file an application and then attend a hearing process with the SGA.

The student organizations submit funding requests through what is known as OrgSync and they have to attend a hearing to discuss their request that they demand with the Student Government Association finance committee. The Finance committee presents a funding recommendation for each one of the student groups to the SGA senate who then votes to approve or deny or modify it.

Each student organization can request $250 once a year that SGA sends to them without a hearing. This money is used to help whichever groups get started for the year.

The Finance Committee of SGA considers the requests and prepares a funding recommendation to present to the Senate.

The funds that we give are allocated and comes from tuition, the Senate must vote to approve funding allocations.

After the Senate approves the recommendation, the funds are transferred into the “Student Organizations” of each group and then it can be spent.

SGA partners with ‘Viking Expeditions to help fund organizations as well. So while student government can fund up to $5,000 a year to each student group. Of that money, no more than $2,000 can be spent on off-campus events.

This is where ‘Viking Expeditions’ comes in and helps funds up to $3,000 a year for service and philanthropic events.

Not all groups take advantage of this simple process. According to data from the finance Committee of SGA, student government funded 68 student organizations a total of $141,000.

“Student Government has three core competencies: Providing Information, Advocating for students, and providing Opportunities for Involvement. SGA Funding is one of the ways we provide opportunities for involvement and we are a resource for student organizations to get funds and own their experience on campus, said Wehner.

Information about this process the application deadlines can be found on SGA’s website: csusga.com

Jon Fedor sat down with Cleveland Stater, on October 3, to discuss the Student Government Associations’ plans for 2013-2014. Jon Fedor is the president of SGA. Following is an edited from an extended conversation.

There are substantial changes that are in the works at SGA. However Fedor emphasized that everything SGA does is filtered through its three core mission- advocate on behalf of students, be a trusted source for information and provide opportunity for involvement here on campus and even off of campus too.

One of the main reforms brought in by SGA is the way student organizations request funds from SGA and Viking Expeditions.

“So we heavily streamlined that process creating a new form working in cooperation with the Viking expedition organization that does service and philanthropy funding, while SGA funds all other types of needs of student organizations,” Fedor said.

SGA has combined the two forms that student organizations to get funding from SGA and Viking Expeditions. As the hearings of the two funding organizations held on opposite weekends, this new process will speed up the funding mechanism. Fedor credited Jake Wehner, treasurer of SGA, for the idea.

Vice President Allie Dumski has been leading a project over the past summer called the Viking Tradition Book. SGA is partnering with the Student Alumni Association and university marketing to get that publication printed. The book of traditions is an interactive scrapbook for students to collect memories and tickets to events during their days at CSU.

“When you put in tickets that prove you put effort in games or photos of you doing certain things around campus and participating more in traditions and lets you wear a cord for graduation to say that you completed it and you’re a true Viking,” Fedor said. “So that is the cool thing going on right now and will be printed and released at homecoming.”

Homecoming is not going to be like last year but this year we are doing a football game that where freshman vs. sophomore and juniors vs. seniors and the winners of those games will play against each other for like a Viking Title which will be played at Krenzler field, added Fedor. SGA is working on the details.

One of the highlights of homecoming this year is Childish Gambino concert. Gambino will be preceded by a performance of a student band that will be chosen after a battle of the bands competition.

“There are many great things that we are involved with doing this year that I am excited about and the rest of CSU should be as well,” Fedor said. “I think it’s a step forward.”

He also recognized a great foundation laid by previous SGA, which has helped the organization in his leadership to hit the ground running.

Before the new student cabinet came into office the previous cabinet was embroiled in controversies surrounding curriculum issues, especially four to three conversions and 120 credit hour cap, as a means to further students success at Cleveland State University.

“First thing I have to say is that I don’t think there were any problems that were brought up to us last year that wasn’t dealt with overall I think that the leadership definitely did what they thought was fit and overall benefited CSU students here are some substantial differences this year because at least very least the conversion actually happening now I mean real time changes are being made going into effect fall of 2014 and so we have a more tangible opportunity to really be advocates,” Fedor responded.

SGA has been working very closely with the new provost for the university and senior vice president for Academic Affairs, Dr. Deirdre Mageean.

“She was in place beginning of the summer and we are working with her to make sure the 4-3 credit conversion is the number one issue being taken so that we don’t fall behind academically so that students are not hurt in the whole process,” Fedor said. “The role of SGA is to ensure that students are not harmed in the entire process taking place and so we worked with the provost, the undergrad graduate university curriculum committee, and the faculty senate.”

Fedor acknowledged the heavy lifting being done by the undergraduate curriculum committee under Bill Kosteas.

“Its been interesting to do and play the role of advocate representing students perspective and students needs to the administration,” Fedor said. “I would say if they are ever any problems students need to come to talk to us because we have trusted relationships that we established from people who can make changes and who can deal with any individual problems that any student might have to relate to the 4-3 credit conversion or relates to the 120 credit hour cap or the catalog rights which is guaranteed when you had entered in a program within a college at Cleveland State University.”

He acknowledged people are going have problems with the changes that are happening, but SGA has to fill the shoes of our roles of being advocates for students when they have a problem.

He than went on to say, there are some substantial differences this year because at least very least the conversion actually happening now I mean real time changes are being made and are going into effect the fall of 2014.

“So we have a more tangible opportunity to really be advocate,” Fedor said. “This means people are going have problems with the changes that are happening. We can go ahead and continue to fill the shoes of our roles of being advocates for students when they have a problem.”

Here at Cleveland State University the students Life Organization is going through a transformation and reorganization especially since there is a interim dean for this organization. This is something on the minds of students- how the restructuring of this affects the functioning of SGA and how they fund all the different student clubs and activities at CSU.

“Last year, when there was the first initial organization of the department there were really was not a known or solid plan in place at all to manage the transition and so because of that there were just –massive amounts of chaos that took place students leaders and people that were dealing with money had no idea where to turn because everyone was super busy because there were not any additional staff put into place to handle the workload that was built on the shoulders of the three people that were let go in the department of student life, it was a big mess, said Fedor.

He also told me in the interview that it was tough to see that they let go of the primary staff members in student life. However after Dr. Jim Drnek, the dean of students, left Cleveland State University the things were not that bad because their were additional staff hired and trained last year to help fill out student life.

However, Dr. Willie Banks will be taking over the reins of interim dean of students, while the provost works with an outside hiring agency to bring in a new interim dean of students and later a regular search for a permanent dean.

Jon Fedor is not only dealing with a few new people in the administration with whom he wants to create and maintain a great relationship with them.

“The relationship is going really good, like I mentioned last year, while that national search was taken place SGA, our president at the time Mo Al Bitar, he was a member of the university search committee that eventually recommended that the board of trustees and the president to hire Dr. Deirdre Mageean as the new provost,” Fedor said.

Mageean has worked on opening dialogue from the beginning which is very important and she loves students which is important because all the deans report to her, added Fedor.

Finally this is what Jon Fedor wanted to convey through The Stater to the student body and the university community.

“Basically I myself and our organization here—in SGA we are very passionate about making sure that students here at Cleveland State University can own their space in the university and own their experience here at CSU,” Fedor said. “If you think about it ownership, owning anything creates a sense of responsibility, if you own an object you take care of that object and you have a relationship with someone and you take over that ownership and take responsibility.”

Fedor feels that the university helps students to launch them into the next part of their career or the next part of their life – there is an immense opportunity here at Cleveland State to gain both soft skills and hard skills, to have experience and to make connections.

“My encouragement to students would be get involved and take ownership wherever you are, in classes in the professional side of things, look for student org to join, because the goal of us at SGA and I think of most – the commuters on campus is to make sure you are prepared that we are prepared for the next stage of our life, Fedor said. “It is so easy to walk in and out of these buildings at Cleveland State being a commuter student or resident and never truly engage with the university.”

In the end Fedor said that SGA is also looking at doing more tradition-based things such as funding commissioning and building a statue installation of a bronze Viking statue that well the location is to be discussed.

The Cleveland State Student Government and Alumni Association have come together to start a new Viking tradition. They will be releasing a Viking Tradition Book on October 18 in the Student Center. All students are welcome to stop by and pick up a free copy.

The book is designed to serve as a scrapbook that every student can use to document their time at Cleveland State and cherish the memories later.

The idea for this book was brought up last winter by Allie Dumski, vice president of SGA and Arit Umana of the Alumni Association when the thought of a tradition book would help students share their Viking experiences with fellow Vikings and to create memories and establish strong ties with the university.

The 32-page Cleveland State traditions book is a “to-do” list that all students would participate in throughout their time here at Cleveland State University.

The list reflects the dynamic and engaging nature of the city and campus. These activities include attending athletic events, seeing music and theatre productions, visiting Cleveland museums and restaurants and utilizing Cleveland State services.

“We are very excited to launch the Viking Traditions Book. We hope this book will spark campus pride and excitement and become a tradition itself,” said Allie Dumski, vice president of Student Government Association here at Cleveland State. “By completing the book, students can be sure that they have truly experienced Cleveland State University and have a memory keepsake to prove it.”

Some other colleges such as Cincinnati have similar books to this one.

The book asks you to complete 50 of the seventy-five things that represent Cleveland State University and Cleveland. If you complete the 50 things you then turn your book into SGA and they verify that you actually completed the 50 items. Once your Viking Tradition book is verified, SGA passes your name to the alumni association to be acknowledged at their graduation party. You get a special cord to wear when you walk as well.

“The book consists of different varieties of things you put in the book such as ticket stubs, signatures, pictures of your time at Cleveland State,” said Dumski, Vice President of SGA.

The book is doable at any stage of your education at Cleveland State, whether you are a senior, freshman or in graduate school. It is never too late to engage.

When the books are released on Oct. 18 you can pick them up anytime in the SGA office at your convenience. The book is free to everyone.

SGA and SAA and the Marketing department helped fund this project.

Drinks and food will be provided on the release date. Come down, meet your new Student Government members and start engaging.